Tree Domestication

Goal: To develop agroforestry tree germplasm and practices and facilitate their wide-scale adoption for improving rural livelihoods

Objectives
TM2.1 Participatory evaluation and analysis
New species, varieties, technologies and practices developed with farmers and other partners for greater feasibility, profitability and acceptability.

TM2.2 Tree improvement and management
Improved provenances, varieties and clones developed for priority fruit, timber, medicine, fodder and other species, and better techniques for tree propagation and management identified.

TM2.3 Improving dissemination and scaling up
Dissemination and diffusion of new germplasm, technologies and practices better designed, targeted and implemented.
Outputs

• Comparative genetic gain trials of improved propagules versus controls
• Production economic analyses for tree products
• Work on biodiesel species (Jatropha, Moringa, Pongamia)
• Expanded programme in SE Asia, especially China
• Health-nutrition traits used more in tree improvement
• Research on scaling up participatory domestication approach.
• Fruit tree management on spacing, pruning, watering, fertilization and harvesting.

This focal area links well with CGIAR System Priorities 2d (Genetic enhancement of selected species to increase incomes) and 5d (Improving R&D options to reduce rural poverty and vulnerability).

ICRAF was recently applauded in the EPMR report for its comprehensive and ground-breaking work in the area of tree domestication. Much of this work remains hidden to the majority though as it has not been published in journal articles. TM Theme Office will try and help redress this situation with assistance in writing, highlighting useful journals and reviewing manuscripts. In addition, a book on tree domestication compiling all the experience to date is planned.

The work on fruit trees is advanced in WCA-AHT and Southern Africa and going well in WCA-Sahel. It needs to be developed more in ECA and South Asia. The work on timber trees in ECA and SE Asia could usefully expand to Southern Africa, South Asia and Sahel. The medicinal work planned in unsuccessful BMZ proposal needs to be reinitiated. Work on biodiesel tree species will start during the coming two years.

Whilst participating farmers are readily convinced of the merits of tree domestication we need more comparative genetic gain trials evaluating new germplasm versus standard control. In this way we may quantify more readily the impacts we expect.

The area of production economics is most lacking in our agenda. We need to engage ICRAF’s economists more in looking at returns to new enterprises we are developing, and can’t just assume that they will be more profitable.

Another area that is lacking is pest and disease studies. Although we have ICIPE and CABI in Nairobi we have failed to engage them sufficiently. Our past work with Barkelund and Sileshi has focused on in-depth entomological and pathological investigations. A higher priority should be (i) generic pest risk assessment tools; (ii) methods for monitoring for outbreaks; and (iii) guidelines on what to do when you find a pest or disease.

One cross-thematic area that relates mostly to this focal area is Agroforestry Baselines. There is a need for ICRAF to identify the key indicators at farm, village, forest, landscape, country and global levels that it wants to improve. These indicators need to be priority ones hopefully linked to MDGs and measurable. Different projects could weight indicators differently. For instance at farm level these could include: number trees per farm, number tree species per farm, contribution of trees to household budget, etc.